Parthenope

But “Parthenope” shouldn’t have to strain as hard as it does — it plays like a fragrance ad.

And with his overlong “Parthenope,” the mild suppressing of most of his Fellini-esque impulses in favor of a sexy Michelangelo Antonioni aura yields only scattershot results.

But without a character that we feel connected to, even Parthenope’s great beauty, meant to suggest Naples itself, qualifies as an overburdened resource.

But Parthenope also knows how to gently, and with a teasing smile, push back at anyone’s preconceived notions about who she is, and what she is or isn’t thinking.

The leading character is a team known as Partenopei, taken from Parthenope, a siren in Greek mythology.